English Learning

APPOINTMENT WITH LOVE  S. I. Kishor  John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She now lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. Soon after he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile h...

INDIGO - LOUIS FISCHER IMPORTANT QUESTION ANSWERS  1. Why do you think Rajkumar Shukla has been described as 'resolute ' man?  Answer : Rajkumar Shukla wanted Gandhiji to accompany him to Champaran. He wanted him to see the injustice done to the peasants. Gandhiji was too busy at that time but Shukla never left Gandhiji's side. In fact he followed him wherever he went. At last Gandhiji had to find time to go with him. It really shows how resolute Shukla was.  2. Why do you think the servants thought Gandhiji to be another peasant?  Answer : Gandhiji was very simple in his dress and manners. He looked very thin and had a dark complexion that is why the servants thought him to be another peasant.  3. List the places Gandhiji visited between his first meeting with Shukla and his arrival at Champaran.  Answer : Gandhiji's first meeting with Rajkumar Shukla was at Lucknow. Then they met at Calcutta. From there, they went to Patna. Shukla took Gandhiji to the hou...

THE THIRTEENTH BULLET    The mountainous countryside of Owari enjoyed a peaceful existence. The villagers felled trees and burned charcoal, which they would carry over the narrow trails to the nearest towns. Hunters were successful here, for there was plenty of game. As the days passed by, nothing ever happened that was worth the telling. Until suddenly everything changed, and not a single day went by without something happening to upset the whole village. At first, fowl began to go astray, then cattle began to disappear. Even worse the villagers themselves began to fear for their safety. Often those who were confident of knowing their way did not return home from the fields at nightfall. In the morning they were found with torn limbs and mauled faces. The villagers knew that some unknown beast was terrorizing the forest, so they went many times to track it down. They spread traps, but the beast was unusually clever. It was as though it knew exactly what the villagers were...

IMPORTANT QUESTION - ANSWERS 1. From where did the peddler got the idea of the world being a rattrap?  Answer - While plodding his way, the peddler kept on thinking of his rattraps. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. He thought the whole world was also like a big rattrap.  2. Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?  Answer - The crofter was a lonely person. He had no wife or child. He was happy to have someone in his loneliness. That is why he was so talkative and friendly with the peddler.  3. How did the peddler rob the poor crofter?  Answer - The peddler knew where the crofter had kept his thirty kronor. As soon as the crofter left his cottage, the peddler came back. He smashed the window pane and took the money from the leather pouch.  4. What did the ironmaster tell the peddler about his own family?  Answer - He told the peddler that his wife Elizabeth was already dead. His sons were living abroad and there was no one at hi...

IMPORTANT QUESTION- ANSWERS  1. When did the writer join the Y. M. C. A pool and why?  A nswer - The writer had a childhood fear of water and wanted to get over this fear. The Y. M. C. A had a swimming pool. It offered an opportunity to learn to swim. So, the writer decided to join it.  2. What did the eighteen year old boy do to the writer and why?  Answer - The eighteen year old boy saw the writer sitting alone on the side of the pool. He cried, "Hi, Skinny! How would you like to be ducked? " With this, he picked the writer up and tossed him into the pool. 3. How was the writer affected by the misadventure at the pool?  Answer - It shook the writer badly. After some hours, he was able to walk back home. He was feeling very weak. He was trembling. He shook and cried when he lay on his bed. He couldn't eat anything and a terrible fear filled his heart.  4.Narrate briefly the writer's emotions and fears when he was thrown into the pool. Answer - At first, th...

LOST SPRING    - ANEES JUNG  Short - Answer Type Questions  1. Who was Saheb? What was his name? What was the irony about his name?  Answer : Saheb was a poor rag picker. His full name was Saheb-e-Alam. It means lord of the universe. But Saheb not even had shoes to wear. Thus there was deep irony in his name.  2. Who was Mukesh? What was his aim in life?  Answer : Mukesh belonged to a family of bangle makers in Firozabad. He did not like the life of a bangle maker. He wanted to be his own master. His dream was to become a motor mechanic.  3.What does garbage mean for the elders and the children in Seemapuri?  Answer : Garbage to the elders is gold. It is their daily bread. It means a roof over their heads. But for children it is even more. For them, it is a thing wrapped in wonder and for the elders it is a means of survival.  4. What kind of locality does Mukesh live in?  Answer : The locality where Mukesh lives is very dirty. The ...

                                         AT YUMTHANG I stand here at the edge of the sky  Fields of flowers extend about my feet.  Release the string, let your spirits fly In its own course, in its own beat.    My vision is awashed in the clear summer light I'm reclined between the river and the mountainside A corner of my eye is sparkling with the snowy white  Above me is the endless sky opening wide.  So far away what do I care  Of life's many burdens and life's cherished goal.  If only you were here and I could share This lightness-this lifting and rising of soul.  -Guru T. Ladhaki For Solved Exercises of this poem, click on the link below: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJTgYmbQGweWg7n1IMh3PCA/join

SOLVED EXERCISES OF THE LAST LESSON    - ALPHONSE DAUDET  Think as you read [Page No. 7] 1. What was Franz expected to be prepared ed with for school that day? Answer : Mr. Hamel had said that he would ask questions on participles. So Franz was expected to be prepared with rules of the participles that day. 2. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?  Answer : Franz noticed that the school was unusually quiet, with no sounds of the usual chatter or noise. His classmates were already sitting at their places and Mr. Hamel was walking  up and down in the classroom holding his terrible iron ruler under his arm. 3. What had been put up on the bulletin - board?  Answer : It was an order from Berlin. It said that only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.   Think as you read [Page No. 8] 1. What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day? Answer : The order from Berlin caused several change...

AUNT JENNIFER'S TIGERS    - ADRIENNE RICH  I. Read the given extract and answer the questions :    (i) Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool  Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.  The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.  1. Name the poem and the poet.  Answer : The name of the poem is 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'. The name of the poet is Adrienne Rich.  2. What are Jennifer's fingers doing?  Answer : Aunt Jennifer's fingers are fluttering through her wool.  3. What do her fingers find hard to do?  Answer : They find it hard to pull the ivory needle.  4. What sits heavy on Aunt Jennifer's hand? Answer : The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band sits heavy on Aunt Jennifer's hand.  II. Short- Answer Type Questions  1. How is Aunt Jennifer doing her work with the wool?  Answer : Aunt Jennifer's fingers are fluttering through the wool. She finds it h...

A ROADSIDE STAND        - ROBERT FROST I. Read the given extract and answer the questions :  (i) The little old house was out with a little new shed In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,  A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,  It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,  But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.  1. Name the poem and the poet.  Answer : The name of the poem is 'A Roadside Stand'. The name of the poet is Robert Frost.  2. Where had the roadside stand been set up?  Answer : It had been set up in front of an old house at the edge of the road.  3. What would not be fair to say and why?  Answer : It would not be fair to say that the roadside stand had been put up for a dole of bread. It was put up to sell some cheap common things.  4. What is that supports 'the flower of cities?  Answer : It is th...